Ahead of the forthcoming EU-Cuba Joint Council on 26 May, Amnesty International and 7 NGOs urged High Representative Borrell to ensure that human rights remain at the very centre of the EU’s relations with Cuba, at a crucial moment for the country’s human rights defenders.
Amid the ongoing crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association in Cuba, which increased with the targeting of protesters since the demonstrations of 11-12 July 2021, the NGOs urge the EU and its member states to address the scope and severity of the situation and to establish concrete human rights benchmarks in their relations with Cuba.